2 months ago
22
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The two sides are meeting in Saudi Arabia for their most extensive discussions in years. In addition to Ukraine, business ties are on the table.
Feb. 18, 2025, 1:31 a.m. ET
Senior American and Russian officials were set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the most extensive negotiations between the two countries in at least three years, as President Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin seeks warmer ties with Washington.
After arriving in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, Russian officials said they would seek “normalization” with the United States, even holding out the possibility that major American oil companies could return to Russia. Ukraine and Europe were watching from a distance with deep apprehension, amid fears that Mr. Trump could try to force a peace deal on Ukraine that would be favorable to Russia.
The meeting comes less than a week after Mr. Trump’s lengthy phone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Trump said afterward that the two leaders spoke of “the great benefit” that the United States and Russia “will someday have in working together,” and that the two leaders had agreed to “start negotiations immediately” to end the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. delegation in Riyadh is led by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state; Michael Waltz, the national security adviser; and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy and a longtime friend of the president. They were expected to meet Tuesday with Russian officials including Sergey V. Lavrov, the foreign minister; Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy adviser; and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Image
Mr. Ushakov told reporters after landing in Riyadh that the goal of the talks would be “to start a real normalization of the relationship between us and Washington.”
